Economic Development

City Planning

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Forestry (Trees)

The Denver Parks and Recreation Forestry Office is the city agency responsible for trees and shrubs in public parks, parkways and around government buildings. Denver’s publicly owned street trees are under regulation of the City Forester, but their maintenance responsibility is shared across the city by adjacent landowners.

It is important to remember that permits are required prior to the removal or planting of any street trees. You may request a permit by sending an email to forestry@denvergov.org, including a description of the work to be done.

The recent confirmation of Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) within the City of Boulder introduces a new tree pest to the metro-Denver urban forest that could impact hundreds of thousands of property owners across the Front Range of Colorado. Denver alone has an estimated 330,000 ash trees at risk, and losing these trees will have adverse economic, environmental and social impacts on our community. Over the next decade EAB has the potential to destroy more of Denver’s urban forest than any other disease or pestilence in history.Expand the pane below to learn more.

Property owners are responsible for cleanup of debris from trees on private property and from trees within the public right of way adjacent to their property.

Property owners are responsible for the pruning needs of private property trees and the pruning needs of trees within the public right-of-way adjacent to their property.

If a tree limb is broken on a public right-of-way tree, or you have general questions about the condition of a public-right-of way tree, please contact Denver Forestry for assistance forestry@denvergov.org.

For trees on private property, citizens can visit www.denvergov.org/forestry for a list of licensed and insured tree care contractors. It’s a wise practice to make sure any tree care contractor is licensed and insured.

If emergency removal of a fallen branch is needed to clear a street, the city can assist though an established on-call contract, however the cost of the work will be billed to the responsible property owner.

Disposal and Recycling of Tree Branches

Trash card and manual service customers:

Tie loose branches in bundles no longer than 4 feet in length and weighing no more than 50 pounds. No branches may exceed 4 inches in diameter.

The recent confirmation of Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) within the City of Boulder introduces a new tree pest to the metro-Denver urban forest that could impact 100’s of thousands of property owners across the Front Range of Colorado. Denver alone has an estimated 330,000 ash trees at risk, and losing these trees will have adverse economic, environmental and social impacts on our community. Over the next decade EAB has the potential to destroy more of Denver’s urban forest than any other disease or pestilence in history.

State officials have established quarantine boundaries for Boulder County, and it is important to stress that this is currently the only known infestation in the state. The Colorado Department of Agriculture will be working to perform inspection and sampling surveys across the City of Boulder in an effort to determine the extent of the infestation.

Since the announcement of EAB being found in Boulder, Denver’s Forestry staff members have completed several hundred miles of inspections and at this point no signs of EAB have been found within Denver.

With now over a decade of EAB experience in North America, it has become very clear that ash trees can be well protected through proper preventative pesticide treatments. The Colorado Department of Agriculture does not recommend property owners start EAB preventative treatments until an infestation is found within 5 miles of a property.

At this point in time Forestry is working to identify significant ash trees within parks and public rights-of-way, and developing an official EAB response plan for Denver. If you have specific questions about park ash trees, or the right-of-way ash trees adjacent to your private property send a message to forestry@denvergov.org

The Denver Parks and Recreation Forestry Office is the city agency responsible for trees and shrubs in public parks, parkways and around government buildings. Trees are an extremely valuable resource that not only provides attractive landscapes, but also replenishes oxygen in the atmosphere, cools us with shade in the summer and helps clean the air. Denver is a fortunate city with a broad tree canopy and public policies that recognize the value of trees through promotion programs and regulation.

The Office of the City Forester is responsible for the direct maintenance of public trees within parks and designated parkways, oversight of privately maintained trees per Chapter 57 of the municipal code, and taking actions to improve the overall quality of Denver’s urban tree canopy.

Trees are an extremely valuable resource that not only provide attractive landscapes, but also increase property values, create neighborhood character, replenish oxygen in the atmosphere, improve water quality, and reduce temperatures through shading.

Denver’s publicly owned street trees are under regulation of the City Forester, but their maintenance responsibility is shared across the city by adjacent landowners. It is important to remember that permits are required prior to the removal or planting of any street trees. You may request a permit by sending an email to forestry@denvergov.org, including a description of the work to be done.

In 2006 the Metropolitan Denver area took an ambitious step towards more sustainable development by launching the Mile High Million (MHM) Tree Initiative. The MHM goal is to plant one million trees by 2025. Thus far 250,000 trees have been planted. There is growing recognition that trees provide long-term environmental, economic, and health benefits critical to vibrant and livable cities. Read more about the Urban Forest Assessment here.

A State Champion Tree is the largest known tree of its species in the state. Rankings are based on three measurements: the circumference of the tree at 4 ½ feet, the height of the tree, and the tree’s average crown spread. Based on these measurements, each tree is given a point total to determine its state and national ranking. This scoring system has been developed by American Forests.

The Denver Champions and Notable Tree document lists each of the 126 State Champion Trees found within the City and County of Denver. In the document, the circumference has been changed to diameter and is listed in the column labeled DBH (diameter at breast height). The “T” referenced in the rank column denotes a tree that shares its status as a state champion with at least one other tree.

Thirty-two state champions are located at the Denver Botanic Gardens, and fourteen state champions and twenty-nine notable trees are located in Denver park and parkway system. Many other state champions, thirteen in all, reside at location schools and universities.

A number of the trees listed are on private property and are distinguished as such by the word private in the last column. Please respect the property owner’s right to privacy by viewing the tree from the street. Thank you very much for your cooperation. We hope you enjoy viewing these remarkable trees!